Guest Blog Post: Nichole Cumberbatch-Pitt
Beacon of Light Podcast
You have changed!
These words echoed in my spirit. I withdrew, evaluated, and thought for a bit. Am I that different? What is missing? Did I do something wrong? I pondered the statement for a while.
“You have changed!”
Now, let's go back to a couple of years earlier. God prompted me to go deeper into Him. To move past the acceptance stage of Christ and serve Him wholeheartedly. I said yes, all excited and full of butterflies, like a little kid at an amusement park. I expected that my life would turn around. I am fully devoted to God now, so life should be great as promised, right? Well… Nope… that wasn’t the case. It was so far from it.
There is a bit of vulnerability here, but we are overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony (Rev 12:11).
To share a snippet, and I mean just a snippet, so trust and believe that there was more. The pandemic was in full swing. I was purchasing our home, and then my husband lost his job, so I had to deal with all the setbacks and the attitude that accompanied it. My child decided now was the time to act up. Work was stressful; people picked at everything while I juggled two roles.
I developed vertigo, so I was spinning like a tot all day, every day. In addition, I had migraines that were coming on faster than Universal could release the Fast and Furious sequels. My mum got sick, and so I had to take care of her and deal with the many appointments and the mountain of medical bills that accompanied that. Then, the week we finally figured out what she had, it was only mere months since she took ill, she died, and then there was a flood of grief to deal with.
Each problem on its own, I could handle. But everything at the same time, many days, I felt like I was losing my mind and taking sleep aids just to get my mind to relax and feeling the need for a glass of wine each night just to unwind. The many nights I fell on my living room floor at three in the morning when everyone was asleep—crying out to a God who seemed so distant at first but holding on to the hope that even though I didn’t feel Him, He was there. I hadn't signed up for this. Where was the extraordinary life that I was promised?
But it was in those moments that God met me.
It was there. He picked me up, turned me around, and rested my feet on solid ground. During that time of constant pressure, where I would pour my tears out, He poured His oil in. I can say He saved me. I can testify of His goodness, His grace, His mercy. It was during that time that God came off the pages of the Bible and met me right there in my moments of despair. And some of those intimate moments with Him, I wouldn't trade.
So, YES, I have changed and am proud of it. I am unashamedly shouting from the mountaintop. I have a testimony; God turned my mess into a message. Only God knows the cost of the oil in my alabaster box.
Out of that experience came a commission from God to pay it forward and help others see that even though following God is not easy, it is worth it. Therefore, I aim to help them rediscover their hope, joy, and faith. To reassure them that God hears, God cares, and God restores. And they, too, will someday be able to thank God for the oil in their alabaster box.
Out of this journey, God partnered with me to create “Journey to Victory.”
In this book, I share ten lessons I have learned on my journey with God. These lessons have been designed to help you succeed with God whenever you encounter ups and downs, disappointments, hurts, and pains. I assure you that walking with God, even though it may be difficult at times, is worthwhile because God never leaves us and always provides solutions through His Word to help us remain victorious as we journey with Him.
During that wilderness season, I also had to rediscover my identity in Him. It was there God placed the desire to create a Prayer Journal entitled “Authentically You” to help other women on their journey of rediscovering their identity in Christ.
I pray that we will all discover who God calls us to be and walk out that calling. We would surrender all of the pains, disappointments, and hope deferred to the Father and allow Him to heal us so that we can live that abundant life as God promised us in John 10:10.
Be Re-Couraged in Christ!
Nicole
Join us on Tuesday, December 5th, 2023, on the Beacon of Light PODCAST.
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